Lipid degradation behavior for the in-sewer application of the intermittent contact oxidation process

Abstract

Here, we explored the Intermittent Contact Oxidation Process (ICOP) for the degradation of lipids for in-sewer applications. The ICOP is an attached growth process that utilizes biologically active sponge media fixed within a vessel to treat wastewater. In this study, ICOP was explored for its capacity to degrade lipids with an emphasis on the effect of media exposure to headspace-gas. Three laboratoryscale air-tight pipe reactors were fabricated and operated with margarine, calcium oleate, and 5% methyl oleate in hexadecane as the carbon sources, respectively. The degradation rates found for with intermittent water flow ranged 1.3 - 9.2 kgCOD/(m3 · day) at 20 ± 1°C expressed per volume of sponge media. Lipid degradation was observed during prolonged periods without water flow. Further, results indicated that increasing oxygen concentration positively affected degradation rate of lipids. The obtained findings provide understanding for the application of ICOP in collection systems.